Combination cigarette case, lighter and ash receiver



Jan. 15, 1957 w. L. STARKE, JR 2,777,569

COMBINATION CIGARETTE CASE, LIGHTER AND ASH RECEIVER Filed April 24, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet INVENTOR. \AhLuE' L. STARKE h".

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ATTOQMEYS Jan. 15, 1957 W. L. STARKE, JR

COMBINATION CIGARETTE CASE, LIGHTER AND ASH RECEIVER Filed April 24, 1953 Fig.4

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wfQa/yz'za am ATTORNEY-S United States Patent COMBINATION CIGARETTE CASE, LIGHTER AND ASH RECEIVER Willie L. Starke, Jr., Richmond, Va.

Application April 24, 1953, Serial No. 350,914

2 Claims. (Cl. 206-38) This invention relates to a smoking accessory, and more particularly, has reference to a combination device which can be used to carry a quantity of cigarettes, and which can also be used as a lighter, ash tray, snufier, and storage receptacle for extinguished cigarettes and ashes.

In many instances, an ash tray or receiver is not conveniently disposed, and it is desirable, in order that ashes not be dropped upon the floor, that the smoker have a portable tray or receiver, into which the extinguished cigarettes and dead ashes can be deposited. One important object of the present invention is to provide a tray and receiver as described, which will be so designed as to be defined, in part, by a cigarette case, selected walls of said cigarette case being so formed and relatively arranged as to cause one of said walls of the case to form an. ash tray, while the other wall of the case definm aclosure member for a receiver and storage compartment for extinguished cigarettes.

Another object of importance isto provide a smokers accessory as stated in which the cigarette case forms a support for a lighting assembly, said cigarette case being so formed as to cause one end of the cigarette case to support the lighting assembly, while the other end of the cigarette case supports the storage receptacle discussed above.

Another object of importance is to provide, in said lighter assembly, a novelly formed and arranged closure member, which closure member will be provided with means adapted for actuation of a flint wheel, thus to cause the lighter to be ignited when the closure member is swung to an open position. While it is recognized that lighters have already been devised wherein the closure members ignite the wick when swung to an open position, it is proposed, in accordance with the present invention, to

mount on the lighter a horizontally swingable closure member having rigid therewith a toothed segment in mesh with the ratchet means of the flint wheel.

Another object of importance is to provide, in a smokers accessory as described, means in the ash receiver adapted for flicking or breaking oil the lighted end of a cigarette, responsive to depression of a conveniently located button.

Other objects will appear from the following description, the claims appended thereto, and from the annexed drawings, in which like reference characters designate like parts throughout the several views, and wherein:

Figure l is a perspective view of a smokers accessory formed in accordance with the presentinvention, the closure member of the lighter portion thereof being swung to an open position;

Figure 2 is a perspective view in which the lighter closure is in its normal, closed position, the smokers accessory being illustrated on its side for use as an ash tray;

Figure 3 is a top plan view in which a portion is shown in section;

Figure 4 is a longitudinal sectional view taken substantially on line 4-4 of Figure 3;

2,777,569 Patented Jan. 15,1957

Figure 5 is a sectional view on line 5-5 of Figure 4;

Figure 6 is a transverse sectional view through the ash receiver and flicking means, taken substantially on line 6-6 of Figure 4; and

Figure 7 is an enlarged, fragmentary, detail sectional view of the lighter means taken substantially on line 77 of Figure 4'.

The reference numeral 10 has been applied generally in the drawings to designate a cigarette case and tray assembly, the numeral 12 being applied generally to a lighter assembly supported on one end of said case and tray assembly.

Supported upon the other end of the cigarette case and tray assembly 10 is an ash receiver and snuifing assembly 14. This assembly, as well as the assemblies 10, 12, will be described in detail hereinafter.

The assembly 10' is formed as a rectangular, relatively flat, hollow, receptacle 16, so proportioned as to length as to receive a quantity of cigarettes. It will be understood, in this regard, that the length of the receptacle 16 may be such as to permit the accommodation therein of regular or so-called king size cigarettes, as desired. In any event, the receptacle 16, in one wall thereof, is formed with a shallow depression 18 (see Figure 2), one edge of which is notched as at 20. The depression 18 and its associated notch 20, define an ash tray, in which cigarettes may be deposited when the accessory is laid on its side in the manner shown in Figure 2.

On one end of the receptacle 16, there is formed a skirt 22, said skirt being ofiset inwardly from the body portion of the receptacle 16, and being adapted for engagemen-t in a peripheral skirt 24 formed upon the lighter assembly 12. Lighter assembly 12 is provided with a bottom wall 26, which defines one end of the cigarette casewhen the lighter assembly is assembled with the receptacle 1 6.of said cigarette case.

The lighter assembly extends over the full area of one end of the device, and is formed with a Wick chamber 28 which will, in the regular manner, he provided with a supply of cotton wadding or any other material adapted to absorb lighter fluid. A cap 30 provides access to the interior of the Wick chamber 28, for recharging of the absorbent material with lighter fluid.

Extending through the wick chamber is a .flint tube assembly 32, and this assembly, considered per se, is of generally conventional design, having a cap at one end, a

spring held under compression Within an elongated tube, and a. flint forced by the spring out of the tube into engagement with a flint wheel.

As will be noted, that end of the tube assembly adjacent the flint Wheel is projected through a transverse partition 36 provided in the lighter assembly. Rigidly mounted upon the transverse partition or Wall 36 of the lighter assembly is a horizontally extended support bracket 37, on the outer end of which is rotatably mounted a flint wheel 38. Flint wheel 38 is concentric with a toothed wheel 40, the wheel 40 being of smaller diameter than the flint wheel, and being adapted to rotate the flint wheel. Thus, the toothed wheel 40 could be connected to the flint wheel for joint rotation of the wheels in opposite directions. Or, the connection of the toothed wheel to the flint wheel could be such as to cause the toothed wheel to rotate. the flint wheel when the toothed wheel is rotated in one direction, rotation'of said toothed wheel 40 in an opposite direction being permitted without causing rotation of wheel 38 in said opposite direction.

The purpose of an arrangement such as described immediately above would be to cause the flint wheel to be rotated when the closure member of the lighter assembly is swung to an open position, while at the same time permitting the closure member to be swung to a closed position without causing rotation of the flint wheel.

Adjacent the flint tube assembly 34 is a wick 42, said tube assembly 34 and Wick 42 being disposed above a ledge 44 on which theflint wheel 38 is rotatably 'mounted. Ledge 44, thus, cooperates with bracket 37, for extension of a pin or stub axle therebetween, with the flint wheel and toothed wheel 40 being rotatably mounted upon said pin.

A hinge 46 is provided at one end of the wall 36, and connected to said hinge is a closure member 48. Member 48 is of box-like formation, one side and the bottom of said closure member being left off, however, since said side and bottom of the closure member will be closed by the wall 36 and ledge 44, when member 48 is swung to a closed position. The exterior surface of the member 48 is preferably roughened as best shown in Figure l, to facilitate swinging of the closure member to an open position.

Fixedly secured to and within the closure member 48 is a segment 50, said segment 50 having an arcuate, toothed edge as shown in Figure 7. The toothed edge of the segment'is in mesh with the toothed wheel 40, and accordingly, when the closure member is swung to an open position, the wheel 40 will be rotated, thus to rotate with it the fiint wheel. A spark will thus be struck, igniting wick 42.

It will be understood that the toothed edge of segment 50 will be extended Within an are having as its center the hinge axis of the closure member.

Referring now to the snufiing and ash receiver assembly 14, the cigarette receptacle 16, at that end thereof remote from the lighter assembly 12, is reduced in respect to the cross sectional arc thereof, as at 54. The reduced portion 54 is engageable in the open top of a box-like extension receptacle 52, adapted to receive extinguished cigarettes, ashes, and the like.

Mountable upon one side wall of the receptacle 52 are spaced, parallel guides 56, between which is slidably mounted a clousre 58, movable into a position in which it closes an opening 60. Opening 60 is so proportioned as to diameter as topermit the end of a cigarette to be inserted therein.

Snufling means is provided within the ash receiver, and includes a pivoted flap 62 swingably mounted upon a bracket 64, and normally urged to the full line position shown in Figure 4 by means of a spring 66. A push rod 68 is pivotally connected, at one end, to the inner end portion of the flap 62, and is extended loosely through an opening 70 formed in one end wall of the receptacle 52.

It Will be readily appreciated that if it is desired to extinguish a lighted cigarette, one need merely shift the closure 58 to the open position thereof shown in Figure 2. The cigarette is then inserted through opening 60, and the rod 68 is depressed. This causes the flap 62 to be swung to the dotted line position thereof shown in Figure 4. As a result, the flap will be caused to traverse the'opening 60, and will break off the lighted end of the cigarette. The cigarette can then be inserted fully within opening 60, and closure 58 is adjusted to a closed position.

Means for limiting movement of the flap 62 to the dotted line position of Figure 4 includes a stop lug 72 extending outwardly from the inner surface of the receptacle 52.

It will be seen that the device is a self-contained smokers accessory of compact size, capable of being readily carried about in the pocket. In the one accessory there is provided a cigarette case, a lighter, an ash tray, a snuffer, and a receiver for dead ashes and extinguished cigarettes.

It is believed apparent that the invention is not necessarily confined to the specific use or uses thereof described above, since it may be utilized for any purpose to which it may be suited. Nor is the invention to be necessarily limited to the specific construction illustrated and described, since such construction is only intended to be illustrative of the principles of operation and the means presently devised to carry out said principles, it being considered that the invention comprehends any minor change in construction that may be permitted within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A smoking accessory comprising a cigarette case having one end open and the other end closed, said case having a portion of reduced cross sectional area adjacent the closed end thereof, -a skirt extending about and projecting from the open end of said case, a lighter assembly including a bottom wall and a skirt extending about and projecting from said wall positioned so that the bottom Wall abuts and closes the. open end of said case with the skirt frictiona'lly embracing the skirt projecting from one end of said case, and ash receiver means embodying a receptacle open at one end arranged so that its open end frictionally embraces the reduced portion on said case, said receptacle being provided with an opening in the wall thereof for insertion therethrough of the lighted endof a cigarette, and a closure mounted on the wall of said receptacle for movement over and away from said receptacle wall opening.

2. A smoking accessory comprising a cigarette case having one end open and the other end closed, said case having a portion of reduced cross sectional area adjacent the closed end thereof, a skirt extending about and projecting from the open end of said case, a lighter assembly including a bottom wall and a skirt extending about and projecting from said wall positioned so that the bottom wall abuts and closes the open end of said case with the skirt frictionally embracing the skirt projecting from one end of said case, and ash receiver means embodying a receptacle open at one end arranged so that its open end frictionally embraces the reduced portion on said case, said receptacle being provided with an opening in the wall thereof for insertion therethrough of the lighted end of a cigarette, a pair of guides arranged in parallel spaced relation positioned on the wall of said receptacle so that the opening in the receptacle wall is therebetween, and a closure supported between said guides for movement over and away from saidreceptacle wall opening.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS D. 137,332 Fleischer Feb. 22, 1944 1,562,497 Derry Nov. 24, 1925 1,616,436 Bird Feb. 8, 1927 1,782,026 Beyer Nov. 18, 1930 1,814,929 Hrissulakis July 14, 1931 1,819,427 Maisto Aug. 18, 1931 1,838,090 Caldwell et a1. Dec. 29, 1931 1,902,388 Welch Mar. 21, 1933 2,060,754 Davis Nov. 10, 1936 2,494,979 Worthing Jan. 17, 1950 2,572,863 Jaap Oct. 30, 1951 2,606,562 Siegel Aug. 12, 1952 2,665,803 Jaap Ian. 12, 1954 FOREIGN PATENTS 449,641 France Dec. 28, 1912 

